John Katko

Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) is cosponsoring a bill called the TREAT Act in Congress that would increase the number of patients that medical practitioners can prescribe medication for treatment of drug abuse from 30 to 100. Katko held a public meeting in Oswego to address the recent rise in heroin addictions in central New York.

New York politicians are raising concerns that the sale of medical device manufacturer Welch Allyn could put central New York jobs in jeopardy.

When Hill-Rom announced Wednesday morning that it is acquiring Welch Allyn, it did not say that any jobs would be eliminated at the Skaneateles Falls-based company. But that's what was immediately on the mind of the lawmakers who represent the central New York in Washington, D.C.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) told reporters Wednesday he had a “call in” to company representatives to find out more.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection / Washington Area Spark via Flickr

Sponsors of a bill to put Harriet Tubman's face on U.S. currency say they're getting a lot of support. Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) is one of the seven original representatives who introduced the bill in Congress earlier this month, noting that it has been a true bipartisan piece of legislation.

"We've already got co-sponsors from the entire spectrum in the congress. Democrats, Republicans, males, females, African Americans, everything," Katko says. "It's a great cross-section of support for it and there seems to be a lot of excitement about it."

Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) has joined the movement in Congress to make the NCAA more accountable.

Katko is among five House of Representatives members introducing a bill that would reform the way the NCAA oversees college sports. The legislation would require the NCAA to be more transparent in how it deals with disciplinary cases, which include investigations that sometimes go on years. There would also be some sort of legal avenue for schools or athletes accused of transgressions.

Waiting lists for treatment of opioid addiction continue to grow in central New York. That’s why local addiction experts are hoping proposed federal legislation that could help the situation becomes law.

Monika Taylor, director of behavioral health services at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse says Buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone, can be key to someone getting off their addiction to opioids -- heroin or prescription painkillers.

Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) says more resources are needed to fight recruitment of individuals by radical organizations like ISIS and groups linked to al-Qaida. He says one of the big goals should be an anti-messaging campaign aimed at extremist groups.

Syracuse-area Rep. John Katko is touring schools in central New York this week, looking for ways to strengthen education policy.

It’s a story Katko says he’s heard again and again: federally mandated standardized testing is stifling teaching flexibility, and forcing all children to be taught in a one-size-fits-all curriculum. To make his point at a news conference Tuesday, he read a letter he received from an Onondaga County sixth grader, upset at the way he sees test prep taking over schools.

Syracuse-area Rep. John Katko has his work cut out for him as co-chair of the Task Force on Terrorist, Foreign Fighter Threat. The Republican just returned from a trip to several countries in the Middle East to get a sense of where problems might lie.

Katko, as part of an eight-member congressional delegation, visited Israel, Iraq, Turkey and some European countries to get a better idea of the dangers posed by foreign fighters -- those Westerners recruited and trained by terrorist organizations.

Earlier this month, the 114th Congress passed its first 100 days of Republican rule in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Rep. John Katko, the freshman Republican from central New York’s 24th Congressional District, admits things didn’t get off to a good start, with GOP leadership missteps on votes involving abortion and immigration.

"There were some bumps in the road starting out, but I think we’re starting to find our groove a bit,” Katko says.

The three Republican members of Congress that now represent northern and central New York have been presenting a united front when it comes to issues important to the region like Fort Drum and border control. And, they say they are not afraid to stand up to their party at a time when Washington often is paralyzed because of inflexibility from extreme elements in the Republican and Democratic parties.

The three members of Congress that represent upstate New York From the North Country, through central New York, to the Southern Tier, are making a case for a regional defense symmetry. Reps. John Katko, Richard Hanna and Elise Stefanik toured upstate military facilities together Tuesday, to put the focus on potential federal budget cuts that could hurt bases in their districts.

A federal judge this week blocked two executive actions by President Obama, that would have protected as many as 4 million immigrants in the country illegally from deportation. U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen said the president overstepped his authority.

Central New York Congressman John Katko agrees with the judge's ruling.

Rep. John Katko will focus this term in office on mental health, security and poverty.

The first-term Syracuse area congressman told reporters what he wants to spend his time on. Those points range from promoting tourism to protecting the area’s agricultural sector.

Katko, R-Camillus, spoke in depth about improving Syracuse’s high poverty rate. He says in his position, he’ll look to be an advocate for decreasing unemployment and school dropout rates. "And there’s no easy answers, but raising the awareness is a start of trying to get a solution to the problem," he said.

Syracuse-area Rep. John Katko is jumping into the discussion on the future of Interstate 81. The Republican is calling on the New York state and federal governments to include all options for the future of I-81 when a scoping report is released to the public in the coming weeks.

Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) was one of three House of Representative Republicans who voted this week against a bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Katko has said all along that he wouldn't vote for a full-scale repeal, unless there is an alternative to the sweeping health care law.

The congressman says Republican leadership was aware of how he would vote. In a statement following the vote, Katko said he was disappointed that the bill didn't provide a real solution to the rising costs of health care.

Freshman Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) takes the gavel to chair his first congressional subcommittee meeting Tuesday.

The 24th District congressman is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, and chairs the Subcommittee on Transportation Security.

The hearing comes following an apparent gun smuggling ring that started in Atlanta. With the alleged help of an airport employee, a passenger last December got through security with several guns in carry-on luggage and on to a plane headed to New York.

As Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) is finishing up his first month representing the residents of the 24th Congressional District, he says he’s getting used to the pace and the politics of the nation’s capital.

Katko, joins a Congress that has the largest Republican majority since the 1930s. And he admits that getting all the factions of the GOP to work together as one can be a challenge.

Freshman Republican Rep. John Katko isn’t backing the president’s plan for free community college, but he says it’s a discussion worth having.

President Barack Obama proposed a free Associates Degree for community college students in his State of the Union address last night.

"Can we afford that? I don’t know. But should we talk about the affordability of college for people on a general matter? Absolutely. And I think there’s something there we can work with," said Katko, the congressman for central New York, afterward.

How does Congressman John Katko suggest improving the productivity rate of the House of Representatives? By trying really hard.

Rep. Katko (R-Camillus) sees his role as a congressman to both write laws and assist residents of his central New York district. Katko begins his job as the representative of New York’s 24th Congressional District at a time when Washington has enacted a historically low number of laws.

Local activists took to the streets of Syracuse on Tuesday to urge President Barack Obama to veto legislation to construct the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. The dozen or so protesters made their statement in front of newly-elected Rep. John Katko's office in Syracuse.

Katko, a Republican, was a target of protestors because he was among 238 Republicans and 28 Democrats in the House of Representatives to support construction of the pipeline.

Newly sworn-in Rep. John Katko has already attached his name to an effort to repeal the medical device tax.

The tax on medical equipment manufactured in the United States was tacked on to the Affordable Care Act as a way to pay for the health care overhaul. But it’s angered device makers, like Welch Allyn in Skaneateles. The company attributed recent layoffs to the tax’s impact.

The orientations are over, the office space has been rented and the staff hired. And now the real work begins for the 58 freshmen who will join the 114th session of the House of Representatives.

Among those being sworn in today, are North Country Republican Elise Stefanik, who is the youngest women ever elected to Congress and Syracuse-area Republican, John Katko. The Camillus Republican says he and Stefanik are already working together.

Rep.-elect John Katko has been appointed to become chairman of a subcommittee in the House of Representatives.

The Syracuse-area Republican will officially be sworn in tomorrow along with the rest of the freshman class of lawmakers. But not every newcomer to Congress gets to become a chairman.

Katko was already named to the House Homeland Security Committee, and now has been named the head of its Subcommittee on Transportation Security. The committee focuses on safety of passenger and baggage screening, surface transportation and transportation security regulations.

On January 6, John Katko takes the Oath of Office as the 24th district's Congressional representative. On this episode of the Campbell Conversations, host Grant Reeher talks with the Congressman-elect about his learning curve during the orientation, the transition from Dan Maffei, his legislative priorities and his committee assignments, the continuing problem of political polarization in Washington, and the racial tensions surrounding law enforcement.

Syracuse-area Rep.-elect John Katko’s congressional committee assignments will put him in a place to see a lot of action as the 114th Congress opens in January.

Katko got the assignments he wanted on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. There will be a lot going on in the area of transportation, as the highway bill and the Federal Aviation Administration bill will expire soon. He will also be involved in discussions over the reconstruction of Interstate 81 through Syracuse.

There won’t be much change going from candidate John Katko to Rep. Katko after the Republican takes the oath of office in Washington, D.C. next month. The representative-elect expects the campaign style that led him to a 20-point win over incumbent Democrat Rep. Dan Maffei in November will be the model for his congressional career.

For former federal prosecutor Katko, that means plenty of town hall meetings, tele-town halls, social media, and just plain getting around.

Utica-area Rep. Richard Hanna will start his third term in Congress in January. But the 114th Congress will be a different dynamic for the 22nd Congressional District Republican.

First, Hanna will have two new congressional representatives in neighboring districts. Gone are Democrats Rep. Dan Maffei and Rep. Bill Owens. In their place are freshman Republicans John Katko in the Syracuse-centric 24th Congressional District, and Elise Stefanik in the North Country's 21st District.

Once Republican John Katko begins representing central New York's 24th Congressional District next month, he says he plans to take time to praise police in an era when police-community relations have become strained.

When Katko was a federal prosecutor in Syracuse, he worked a great deal with police officers and came across some of the bad apples.